How to choose a domain name

Modified on: 2014-11-14 10:58:42 -0600

How to choose a domain name

A domain name is your address online—for example www.smallscreenproducer.com. Like your company name, it's a marketing tool in itself: you want people to see it and know who you are and possibly even what you do, too. That's why choosing one that represents your brand is so important.

Generally speaking, the best domain names are fairly short, and use two or three recognizable words that are easy to remember and spell—like GoDaddy or HostGator or BlueHost, for instance. Is your website going to be a business site? If so, your domain name should mirror your business name so that your customers can easily find you!

Start by going to a domain re-seller like GoDaddy. use their search feature to see if your chosen name is already taken. If it isn't, great—go ahead and register it, and make sure to keep renewing it so it stays yours.

If your chosen name has been taken, you'll probably see several domain variations given to you as alternatives. It's worth taking a look—there might be an option there you hadn't considered.

Domain names can only use letters, numbers and hyphens. If your chosen name is already taken, putting a hyphen in yours might be an idea—but of course, it will mean you and everyone else will need to remember the hyphen and where to put it.

You can't use spaces or symbols, so if putting two words together without a space will be confusing or look awkward, you might want to think again.